Batteries: Recycling

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government have taken to increase levels of recycling of batteries.

Joan Ruddock: We are currently consulting on the transposition of the EU batteries directive. When transposed, the directive will reduce the quantity of hazardous and non hazardous waste batteries going to landfill and increase the recovery of the materials they contain. Collection targets set by the directive for portable batteries are 25 per cent. by 2012, rising to 45 per cent. by 2016. The prohibition of incinerating or landfilling industrial and automotive batteries implies a 100 per cent. collection and recycling target for industrial and automotive batteries.
	The consultation is due to close on 14 March and the UK, along with all other member states, has a deadline of 26 September this year to transpose the Directive's provisions into national law.
	Research and trials to provide evidence for the consultation and to investigate the best ways of implementing the batteries directive have been carried out on portable batteries. The waste and resources action programme (WRAP) is currently working in partnership with a range of local authorities and not-for-profit organisations that already run recycling collection services to pilot portable waste battery collection trials in the UK. Trials include establishing 'drop off' points at places such as supermarkets, as well as other methods of collection including at the kerbside.
	Supported by funding from DEFRA through the business resource efficiency and waste (BREW) programme and the devolved administrations, the trials form part of a wider effort to develop cost-effective ways for the UK to meetthe targets of the batteries directive.
	The results of the various trials will be used to help Government identify the best mechanisms and most efficient methods of collecting batteries in line with directive targets.

Energy: Conservation

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on steps the Government are taking to improve domestic energy efficiency.

Phil Woolas: We regularly meet ministerial colleagues to discuss domestic energy efficiency and its contribution to the climate change agenda. The Secretary of State met the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on issues including this in mid December. Progress against our domestic climate change and energy security objectives is reviewed by Cabinet Ministers though the Economic Development (Environment and Energy) Committee, chaired by the Chancellor.

Heathrow Airport: Sustainable Development

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what role his Department had in relation to the project for the sustainable development of Heathrow; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  whether he made representations to the Department for Transport in relation to the project for sustainable development of Heathrow airport; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: Both Ministers and officials in DEFRA engage regularly with colleagues at the Department for Transport on matters relating to Heathrow which affect DEFRA lead policy responsibilities: notably on air quality, noise, and climate change impacts. DEFRA officials were engaged in the project for sustainable development of Heathrow modelling work in relation to air quality, and have been involved in the noise, air quality and climate change elements of the subsequent development of the public consultation on the development of Heathrow.

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of Warm Front assessors' recommendations have led to work being carried out  (a) in Nottinghamshire,  (b) Bassetlaw and  (c) England.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 10 January 2008
	The percentage of instances where an insulation measure recommended by a Warm Front assessor leads to the work being completed is as follows.
	
		
			  Insulation 
			  Area  Proportion (percentage) 
			 Nottinghamshire 79.5 
			 Bassetlaw 80.5 
			 England 80.3 
		
	
	The percentage of instances where a heating measure recommended by a Warm Front assessor leads to assistance being provided, including where this only involves an installer technical survey being completed, is as follows:
	
		
			  Heating 
			  Area  Proportion (percentage) 
			 Nottinghamshire 96.7 
			 Bassetlaw 94.2 
			 England 96.1 
		
	
	Available data does not identify figures for the proportion of instances where a recommendation for heating assistance leads to a heating measure being installed or the repair of an existing system being completed. Further analysis of the data is taking place.

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme: Standards

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of the performance of EAGA and its subsidiaries in operating the Warm Front programme; and what plans he has to review the operation of  (a) the programme and  (b) its commercial contractors.

Phil Woolas: DEFRA monitors the performance of Warm Front as part of an ongoing monthly reporting cycle.
	DEFRA also employs independent quality assessors, who provide in-depth analysis of the performance of Warm Front contractors, both as part of a regular audit cycle, and on an individual project basis where required.

Labour Party: Elections

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he  (a) informed the Permanent Secretary of the relevant Department of the donations he received as part of his campaign for the deputy leadership of the Labour party and  (b) registered them with the Cabinet Office in accordance with the Ministerial Code.

Hilary Benn: In accordance with the requirements of the Ministerial Code, a list of Ministers relevant interests declared to their Permanent Secretary will be published in due course.

Wildlife: Finance

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many local authorities applied for funding from his Department to support local wildlife facilities in each of the last five years.

Joan Ruddock: Local wildlife facilities could mean any number of organisations, for example: Nature reserves, wildlife parks, zoos, rescue centres, rehabilitation facilities etc. To be able to provide the information required by my hon. Friend a more specific request is required, including what type of funding is being referred to. My hon. Friend is welcome to write to me with the details and I will respond to him.

Armed Forces: Housing

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many single living accommodation bed spaces were upgraded to grade  (a) 1 and  (b) 2 categories under the grade for charge initiative in each of the last four years.

Derek Twigg: The Department has targets to deliver only Grade 1 bed-spaces. For each of the last four financial years the number of bed-spaces delivered is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Financial year  Number of new or improved bed-spaces 
			 2006-07 5,565 
			 2005-06 5,540 
			 2004-05 5,635 
			 2003-04 2,915

Armed Forces: Housing

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many newly-acquired  (a) Grade 1,  (b) Grade 2,  (c) Grade 3,  (d) Grade 4 and  (e) ungraded single living accommodation bed spaces were added to stock in each of the last five years; and what targets he has for adding new bed spaces to stock in each grade for charge.

Derek Twigg: The Department only targets the delivery of new or improved single living accommodation (SLA) to Grade 1 standard. Numbers of newly built or improved SLA bed-spaces delivered in each year are only available for the last four financial years and are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Financial year  Number of new or improved bed spaces 
			 2006-07 5,565 
			 2005-06 5,540 
			 2004-05 5,635 
			 2003-04 2,915 
		
	
	The Department will build or improve a further 30,000 bed-spaces to Grade 1
	standard by 2013.

Gordon Brown

Adam Price: To ask the Prime Minister whether he  (a) informed the Permanent Secretary at the Treasury of the donations he received as part of his campaign for the Leadership of the Labour Party and  (b) registered them with the Cabinet Office in accordance with the Ministerial Code.

Gordon Brown: In accordance with the requirements of the Ministerial Code, a list of Ministers relevant interests declared to their permanent secretary will be published in due course.

Departmental Data Protection

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether personal data for which his Department is responsible is  (a) stored and  (b) processed overseas; and if he will make a statement.

David Cairns: The Scotland Office does not retain personal data.

Trade Unions

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what meetings he has had with trades union officials since 1 July 2007; on what dates; and with which trades unions.

David Cairns: Ministers meet many people as part of the process of policy development. It is not normal practice to disclose details of such meetings.

Arts Council of England: Standards

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what criteria the Arts Council England uses when assessing the artistic quality of the work of their regularly funded organisations.

James Purnell: Arts Council England operates at arm's length from the Government and decisions about which arts organisations to fund are entirely for them.
	In October 2006 Arts Council England published guidance on how it assesses artistic quality. A copy of the guidelines will be placed in the Library of the House.
	This is also available on Arts Council England's website at:
	http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/publications/information_detail.php?rid=0&sid=&browse=recent&id=92
	Arts Council England is reviewing these guidelines this year following the publication of the McMaster Review.

Arts: West Midlands

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps the Government has taken to support the creative industries in the West Midlands since 1997.

James Purnell: holding answer 15 January 2008
	 My Department has sought to co-ordinate action across government in support of the creative industries. In November 2005, we established the Creative Economy Programme which brought together DCMS, DTI (as it then was), industry representatives and government bodies such as the Arts Council, the UK Film Council and the Design Council. We will shortly launch a strategy document for the creative industries which will set out the challenges that government and industry will need to address in order to sustain and grow this vitally important sector of the economy.
	Key agencies in the West Midlands with responsibility for growing the creative industries, including the Regional Development Agency Advantage West Midlands, Culture West Midlands, Business Link, the Learning and Skills Council, Arts Council England, Screen West Midlands and Skillset, have come together to form the Creative Industries Strategy Group. This group is developing a regional "Creative Industries Manifesto", which will help raise the profile of the sector nationally and internationally; it will also work to bring key initiatives to the region, such as national centres of excellence or major events.
	In addition, since 1997, funding from the European Regional Development Fund has supported a number of projects, including business support and venture capital projects, related to the development of the creative industries in the region. Projects in the 2000-06 Objective 2 Programme have included the establishment of the Advantage Creative Fund (£1.6 million), Business Support for Creative Industries in Birmingham (£2.5 million) and the West Midlands Media Production Fund (£3.7 million).

BBC America: Finance

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what procedures are in place to ensure that licence fee monies are not used to subsidise BBC America  (a) directly and  (b) indirectly; and if he will make a statement.

James Purnell: holding answer 15 January 2008
	 Under the terms of its charter and agreement, the BBC is prohibited from using licence fee revenue to fund any commercial service or any service aimed primarily at users outside the UK. The BBC's Fair Trading Guidelines, available on the BBC website, set out the BBC's approach to complying with its obligations to keep licence fee revenue separate from its commercial operations.

Sports

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which activities his Department define as sports; and when the list of activities included within his Department's definition of sport was last revised.

Gerry Sutcliffe: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote to the Local Government Association on 23 December 2007 confirming that the definition of sport in the new performance measurement framework will remain largely unchanged from the definition currently used for the DCMS public service agreement on moderate intensity sport and for the Comprehensive Performance Assessment. A copy of this letter has been placed in the House Library.
	The definition of sport will continue to measure sport and active recreation such as recreational walking and cycling. From April 2008 the definition of sport will also include measurement of some lighter intensity sports and physical activities such as yoga, bowls and pilates for those aged 65 or over; as these activities place a degree of physical demand on that age group.
	This broad definition supports the Government's aim of getting 2 million more people more active by 2012.
	Sport England are developing a new strategy on how they will build a world-class community sport infrastructure. As part of this work Sport England will review which sports fall within their funding remit. Her Majesty's Treasury is leading on a cross Government physical activity strategy for all, which will look at policy, funding and delivery of wider physical activity.

Children in Care: Higher Education

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what research his Department has undertaken on levels of debt of looked-after children on graduation from university.

Kevin Brennan: During the consultation on our green paper "Care Matters: Transforming the Lives of Children and Young People in Care" children and young people told us that they faced financial barriers to entering higher education, including a belief that they will not be able to meet the additional costs. This is supported by research evidence from the Institute of Education and the Frank Buttle Trust which showed that young people who have been looked after typically have higher levels of debt on graduation than their peers and identified significant variations in the level of financial support offered by different local authorities.
	The consultation confirmed the support for our proposal to introduce a £2,000 higher education bursary for carer leavers to ensure that they get a minimum level of financial support. Eighty three percent of young people at the "Care Matters" consultation events thought the bursary was a good idea and 73 per cent. thought it would encourage more young people who were looked after to go on to higher education.

Departmental Cost Effectiveness

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the answer of 19 July 2007,  Official Report, column 531W, on Departments: cost effectiveness, what the target is for efficiency savings to be divided between the two newly created departments.

Kevin Brennan: Machinery of Government changes within the Department has resulted in the Department for Education and Skills (DFES) target being split between the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF).
	Treasury are keen that there is a shared responsibility for the overall target and that this is agreed formally. Both DCSF and DIUS permanent secretaries have set out their continued commitment to the overall target. However, it is important for governance and accountability purposes that each department knows which initiatives within the programme it is responsible for. We have calculated an indicative split of the Gershon Targets and progress towards them are outlined in the autumn performance reports for each Department. The Department published its autumn performance reports in December 2007, which is available on our website:
	www.dcsf.gov.uk

Schools: Sports

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many school governing bodies and school sport associations work with competition managers.

Kevin Brennan: Competition managers work with schools, national governing bodies of sport and school sport associations within each county area to increase inter school sport competition. The national school sport competition framework has been developed in partnership with some 20 national governing bodies of sport.
	School sport partnerships now include all maintained schools in England. There are currently 90 competition managers in post, each working across two school sport partnerships. On average, there are 48 schools per partnership. This means that competition managers are currently working with around 7,200 primary schools and 1,440 secondary schools. The appointment of a total of 226 competition managers by January 2009 will ensure that all maintained schools in England will be included in this framework.

Daedalus Airfield

Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment she has made of the status of Daedalus airfield at Lee-on-Solent.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency and its parent department, the Department for Transport have now reviewed the status of Daedalus airfield and are of the view that it is not a Government aerodrome, within the meaning of the Air Navigation Order 2005. It is a civilian (unlicensed) aerodrome in the occupation of the Hampshire Police Authority (HPA).
	The HPA occupies the site as lessee and under the terms of its lease is responsible for the operational management of the aerodrome, including matters of safety and airfield access.

Heathrow Airport

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  whether Heathrow Airport has exceeded the number of flights operating during the night quota period in each season since winter 2006-07;
	(2)  whether Heathrow Airport has exceeded the quota count points system for noise levels during the night quota period in each season since winter 2006-07.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Heathrow airport has operated consistently within the Government's night flight regime requirements. This regime specifies seasonal maxima covering both aircraft movements and noise quota amounts. The maxima for the seasons from winter 2006-07 to date are as follows:
	
		
			   Winter 2006-07  Summer 2007  Winter 2007-08 
			 Movements 2,550 3,250 2,550 
			 Quota 4,140 5,610 4,140 
		
	
	The night restrictions regime has recognised for a number of years that there will be occasions when the airport can be affected by extra-ordinary circumstances which cannot be anticipated (for example aircraft delays caused by security, severe weather or ATC situations). Accordingly, in such circumstances, there is provision under the regime that flights may be dispensed i.e. will not count against the limits.

Heathrow Airport

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which individuals and organisations have been sent a copy of the Adding Capacity at Heathrow airport consultation document; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 16 January 2008
	On the launch of the 'Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport' consultation we sent out 766 consultation documents to a wide range of organisations, as set out in Annex G of the consultation document. The full list of these organisations has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	We also sent out over 217,000 Summary Documents to residents around the airport, which recommends that they request the full Consultation Document to inform their response. To date we have sent over 900 copies of the consultation document to a range of different organisations, interests and members of the public who have requested a copy. Our obligations under data protection legislation prevent us from releasing the names of individuals concerned. The consultation document is available at the consultation exhibitions which we are running in the communities around the airport. To date, 470 copies of the Consultation Document have been given out at the exhibitions. Seven of these exhibitions had taken place by 15 January, with five remaining.

Railways: Essex

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what the reasons are for the disruption of the Liverpool Street to Chelmsford rail line experienced since 31 December 2007; what steps are being taken to improve the quality of service for commuters on that line; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what reasons Liverpool Street Station was not fully operational for commuters on 1 January 2008; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: holding answer  16 January 2008
	The independent Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) has launched an investigation into Network Rail's management of engineering projects including the causes of the major engineering over-runs at Liverpool Street over Christmas and the new year. The ORR expects to publish its findings by 29 February 2008. We will not seek to pre-empt the ORR's investigation by speculating on causes before its report is issued.

Accidents: Farms

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many farm accidents there were in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Anne McGuire: A total of 1,315 accidents were reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) in 2006-07 by duty holders in the agriculture and hunting industry; including farms. This also includes accidents to workers, the self-employed and members of the public from work activities in the agriculture and hunting sectors.
	The total includes fatal and 'major injuries' and 'over three day injury' accidents as defined in RIDDOR. In simple terms, a major injury is defined as an amputation, fracture (not in fingers/toes), certain dislocations, and injury requiring immediate medical treatment or a stay in hospital for over 24 hours. An over three day injury is one where the injured person was required to be absent from normal (work) duties for more than three whole days (including week ends). It also includes accidents to workers, the self-employed and members of the public from work activities in the agriculture and hunting sectors.
	2006-07 is the most recent full year for which data is available. However, because of late reporting to HSE, the data is provisional and will be finalised next year in 2008.

Pension Credit

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households in each region have had at least one person in receipt of  (a) pensioner credit and  (b) the minimum income guarantee credit in each year since their introduction.

Mike O'Brien: The answer is in the following table.
	
		
			  Households in receipt of pension credit and the pension credit guarantee credit 2003-07 
			   November 2003  May 2004  May 2005  May 2006  May 2007 
			   Pension credit  Guarantee credit  Pension credit  Guarantee credit  Pension credit  Guarantee credit  Pension credit  Guarantee credit  Pension credit  Guarantee credit 
			 All 2,084,700 1,842,690 2,490,760 2,004,780 2,682,730 2,088,990 2,717,390 2,118,830 2,733,500 2,135,850 
			 North East 124,280 106,690 147,570 114,570 156,680 117,740 157,430 118,870 157,440 119,250 
			 North West 285,900 252,980 332,590 271,230 354,960 280,740 357,560 283,640 359,140 285,530 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 200,810 175,270 241,840 189,990 258,880 195,910 261,650 197,750 262,390 198,420 
			 East Midlands 144,690 126,030 178,600 139,330 193,290 145,490 195,990 148,020 196,580 148,540 
			 West Midlands 216,810 193,350 256,910 208,710 276,840 216,420 279,420 218,570 280,340 219,360 
			 East of England 159,940 141,240 202,300 158,220 220,610 166,890 224,190 169,950 227,080 172,260 
			 London 233,480 218,160 264,860 232,370 285,420 243,410 290,220 247,690 292,420 250,490 
			 South East 205,480 179,090 254,320 199,340 276,770 209,530 282,030 213,660 285,280 217,100 
			 South West 171,570 147,080 205,590 161,720 221,070 169,140 224,820 172,320 225,770 173,520 
			 Wales 121,890 108,170 145,900 119,260 158,370 125,680 161,330 128,360 162,720 129,950 
			 Scotland 219,650 194,440 259,980 209,780 279,370 217,660 282,420 219,720 283,530 220,680 
			 Unknown 190 180 280 240 460 360 330 280 810 740 
			  Notes: 1. The number of households in receipt are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 3. Pension credit was introduced in October 2003 so data for 2003 is as at November. 4. Household recipients are those people who claim pension credit either for themselves only or on behalf of a household. 5. The number of households in receipt of guarantee credit includes those in receipt of guarantee credit only and those in receipt of both guarantee credit and savings credit. 6. Time series data include minimum income guarantee (MIG) cases: households on income support where the claimant and/or partner are aged 60 or over. About 1.8 million MIG cases transferred to pension credit on 6 October 2003.  Source: DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data

Pension Credit

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) single pensioners and  (b) pensioner couples received (i) pension credit and (ii) income support in England in each year since 1997.

Mike O'Brien: The answer is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Pensioners in receipt of pension credit 2003-07 
			   Single pensioners in receipt of pension credit  Pensioner couples in receipt of pension credit 
			 November 2003 1,398,000 345,000 
			 May 2004 1,639,000 446,000 
			 May 2005 1,756,000 488,000 
			 May 2006 1,771,000 503,000 
			 May 2007 1,779,000 507,000 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand. 2. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 3. Pension credit was introduced in October 2003 so data for 2003 is as at November.  Source:  Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent data. DWP Information Directorate 
		
	
	
		
			  Pensioners in receipt of income support/minimum income guarantee 1997-2003 
			  As at May:  Single pensioners in receipt of income support/minimum income guarantee  Pensioner couples in receipt of income support/minimum income guarantee 
			 1997 1,202,000 224,000 
			 1998 1,161,000 212,000 
			 1999 1,137,000 206,000 
			 2000 1,135,000 214,000 
			 2001 1,205,000 233,000 
			 2002 1,215,000 242,000 
			 2003 1,229,000 259,000 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand. 2. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 3. Pensioners are defined as benefit units where either the claimant and/or partner are aged 60 or over. 4. From April 1999 income support for pensioners became the minimum income guarantee. 5. Figures from 1997 to 1999 are taken from a five per cent. sample are subject to a degree of sampling variation. They are also adjusted to be consistent with the overall caseload from the Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.  Source:  Five per cent. data and Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data, DWP Information Directorate

Middle East: Armed Conflict

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government have made to Iran on using its influence to try to secure the release of the Israeli soldiers kidnapped by Hamas and Hezbollah in June and July 2006.

Kim Howells: The UK remains concerned about the welfare of Gilad Shalit, captured by militants in Gaza and Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev captured by Hezbollah in northern Israel in 2006. While the UK has not made any specific representations to the Iranian government on this issue, we continue to encourage the Iranian government to play a more helpful role in the region. We believe that most effective way to achieve the release of the soldiers captured by Hezbollah is to support efforts by the UN to mediate between the parties, as part of the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701. We also continue to support the efforts of the government of Israel, Egypt and others to negotiate the release of Gilad Shalit.

Syria: Lebanon

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports the Government have received of the  (a) scale and  (b) circumstances of the smuggling of weapons from Syria into Southern Lebanon.

Kim Howells: In his most recent report on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1701 in October 2007, the UN Secretary-General reported that arms smuggling across the Syria/Lebanon border was continuing. In particular, the Secretary-General highlighted claims by the Government of Israel that the smuggling of weapons continues from both Iran and from Syria. Israel now claims that Hizballah has been able to rearm itself to higher levels than before the 2006 conflict and that it now possesses longer-range rockets and new air defence units. Statements by Hizballah since the conflict appear to confirm Israel's claims that Hizballah has significantly rearmed. The UK remains seriously concerned by these reports and calls on all countries in the region, including Syria and Iran, to abide by their obligations under UNSCR 1701.
	The UK is also taking practical steps to assist the Government of Lebanon to improve border security. The UK is also providing £800,000 worth of training and equipment to a German-led initiative to improve Lebanese border security capacity.

Disabled: Children

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to help ensure the affordability of childcare for families with disabled children through the tax credits system in parallel with the childcare accessibility pilots announced in Aiming high for disabled children: better support for families.

Jane Kennedy: 'Aiming high for disabled children: better support for families' committed Government to a £35 million childcare accessibility project over the 2007 comprehensive spending review period, to help test the best ways of meeting provision for families with disabled children.
	HMRC's published statistics for provisional awards show that, as at December 2007, there were 118,000 families with disabled children benefiting from the disabled element of child tax credits, and of these, 49,700 families also benefited from the severely disabled element. This means that a family on maximum award with a disabled child would be entitled to an extra £2,440 per year (plus an additional £980 per year if entitled to the severely disabled child addition).
	In addition to this, families eligible for the childcare element of working tax credits can receive up to 80 per cent. of the costs of childcare to a limit of £175 per week for one child or £300 per week for two or more children. This is available to families with disabled or non-disabled children.

Fuels: Prices

James McGovern: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make an assessment of the merits of linking changes in the winter fuel allowance to changes in fuel prices.

Angela Eagle: The Government keeps all tax rates and benefit payments under review as part of the Budget process. However, the pre-Budget report 2005 announced that winter fuel payments will be paid at their current levels for the rest of this Parliament.

Pensions

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the annual cost to the Exchequer of raising the level of trivial commutation to  (a) £16,000,  (b) £17,000,  (c) £18,000,  (d) £19,000,  (e) £20,000,  (f) £21,000,  (g) £22,000,  (h) £23,000,  (i) £24,000,  (j) £25,000,  (k) £26,000,  (l) £27,000,  (m) £28,000,  (n) £29,000,  (o) £30,000,  (p) £31,000,  (q) £32,000,  (r) £33,000,  (s) £34,000 and  (t) £35,000.

Andy Burnham: The trivial commutation limit is currently £16,000 and will rise in stages to £18,000 in 2010. The cost of raising the trivial commutation limit would depend upon a number of behavioural factors, though independent research by the Pensions Policy Institute published in June 2007 suggests the cost to the Exchequer from significantly raising the current limits would most likely be very high. Figures from the ABI show that many annuitised pots are below the £16,000 ceiling for trivial commutation, which suggests the limits are already very generous.
	At PBR 2006 the Government announced that HMRC would discuss with interested parties concerns raised regarding the administration costs of paying trivial commutation lump sums under current rules. The Government is exploring how the current rules impact on the interests of individual pensioners, pension savers, and pension providers and how they fit with its wider objectives of encouraging pension saving to provide people with an income in retirement.

Taxation: Plastic Bags

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the Government's policy is on the proposals in the London Local Authorities Bill to introduce a new additional plastic bags tax on shops in London.

Angela Eagle: The Government pledged in the Waste Strategy for England 2007 to phase out free, single-use carrier bags. The Prime Minister made clear in his environment speech of 19 November that in the longer term it will be necessary to eliminate these bags altogether. The Government are actively considering how it can bring forward action that will enable single use carrier bags to be phased out, but determining the right way forward needs careful consideration, including the need for compliance with E.U. law.

Offensive Weapons

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) under 18-year-olds and  (b) over 18-year-olds were convicted of illegally carrying (i) knives and (ii) other weapons in each year since 1997, broken down by police authority area; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: The number of persons convicted of illegally carrying (i) knives and (ii) other weapons in each year since 1997 by police force area is shown in the following tables.
	
		
			  N umber of defendants aged 10 to 17 who were convicted at all courts for illegally carrying offensive weapons excluding knives, in England and Wales by police force area for the years 1997 to 2006( 1, 2, 3) 
			  Police force area  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Avon and Somerset 29 21 34 24 43 57 44 51 45 61 
			 Bedfordshire 9 9 11 13 14 8 11 31 17 25 
			 Cambridgeshire 11 13 10 13 18 23 15 12 33 20 
			 Cheshire 25 29 25 35 27 31 17 35 51 48 
			 City of London 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Cleveland 20 12 18 20 28 25 31 30 20 35 
			 Cumbria 20 20 21 15 21 15 22 17 27 26 
			 Derbyshire 26 22 28 20 26 31 36 46 41 37 
			 Devon and Cornwall 22 16 16 32 24 28 41 42 53 42 
			 Dorset 6 9 12 13 9 13 13 14 17 24 
			 Durham 24 23 33 34 39 36 27 42 39 56 
			 Essex 56 52 37 43 61 46 62 97 62 83 
			 Gloucestershire 11 21 7 13 12 14 15 18 22 15 
			 Greater Manchester 85 103 105 129 193 175 149 201 181 185 
			 Hampshire 50 55 46 63 85 72 78 88 88 94 
			 Hertfordshire 11 12 8 25 16 10 27 40 43 37 
			 Humberside 16 29 37 34 36 34 40 48 46 55 
			 Kent 33 41 33 43 51 29 35 34 47 50 
			 Lancashire 51 30 39 55 59 53 59 84 87 81 
			 Leicestershire 31 35 26 34 35 41 43 45 40 48 
			 Lincolnshire 8 27 13 15 21 17 23 27 14 22 
			 Merseyside 68 71 48 57 64 63 67 87 96 96 
			 Metropolitan Police 335 336 347 435 679 686 550 631 682 713 
			 Norfolk 16 19 12 16 20 11 29 21 22 21 
			 North Yorkshire 15 8 19 16 10 20 19 28 22 31 
			 Northamptonshire 5 12 15 10 4 7 0 5 1 4 
			 Northumbria 68 98 98 103 125 141 119 138 143 100 
			 Nottinghamshire 20 34 29 44 63 48 55 59 70 64 
			 South Yorkshire 31 35 41 57 58 80 62 63 75 80 
			 Staffordshire(3) 25 19 25 (4)— 31 31 35 42 50 37 
			 Suffolk 13 9 19 12 12 27 26 24 42 38 
			 Surrey 7 10 6 20 24 12 15 22 19 19 
			 Sussex 14 21 23 32 43 30 43 55 66 57 
			 Thames Valley 28 32 23 23 43 39 27 36 65 75 
			 Warwickshire 11 12 9 11 9 7 10 15 9 15 
			 West Mercia 12 19 18 12 41 28 28 36 52 59 
			 West Midlands 82 95 82 135 200 180 140 158 163 186 
			 West Yorkshire 54 44 70 65 65 76 105 121 110 112 
			 Wiltshire 9 18 17 9 13 29 17 19 32 34 
			
			 Dyfed-Powys 6 13 5 15 6 10 11 10 15 14 
			 Gwent 15 11 20 19 19 12 17 31 23 33 
			 North Wales 13 17 13 34 28 32 17 27 40 28 
			 South Wales 36 43 39 49 55 53 55 58 45 56 
			 Total 1,427 1,555 1,537 1,847 2,430 2,380 2,235 2,688 2,815 2,916 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for defendants proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table. (4 )Nil.  Source:  Court proceedings database held by RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice. Cur reference: PQ 176295 (Table 3) 
		
	
	
		
			  N umber of defendants aged 18 years and over who were convicted at all courts for illegally carrying offensive weapons excluding knives, in England and Wales by police force area for the years 1997 to 2006( 1, 2, 3) 
			  Police force area  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Avon and Somerset 179 209 213 179 186 214 279 243 252 277 
			 Bedfordshire 57 78 58 67 64 88 109 105 142 116 
			 Cambridgeshire 64 92 79 54 69 86 88 102 101 118 
			 Cheshire 143 123 119 114 91 112 115 119 164 162 
			 City of London 26 15 10 11 18 37 31 33 28 17 
			 Cleveland 68 85 67 81 81 131 133 159 150 160 
			 Cumbria 63 83 68 64 57 64 73 91 91 79 
			 Derbyshire 127 96 128 112 133 131 147 193 183 170 
			 Devon and Cornwall 176 193 180 141 173 208 243 212 232 232 
			 Dorset 44 76 68 72 69 82 92 110 124 96 
			 Durham 85 110 117 122 113 128 126 131 182 154 
			 Essex 195 202 195 181 196 196 211 303 292 279 
			 Gloucestershire 62 80 44 50 65 75 65 82 95 78 
			 Greater Manchester 515 648 543 500 576 580 637 768 750 751 
			 Hampshire 250 244 213 207 212 241 299 317 306 320 
			 Hertfordshire 78 66 88 104 96 114 148 164 193 163 
			 Humberside 134 150 144 120 107 146 171 219 222 197 
			 Kent 156 246 216 192 191 190 185 149 174 154 
			 Lancashire 247 296 236 213 253 251 280 319 321 308 
			 Leicestershire 130 177 147 164 149 169 191 206 210 206 
			 Lincolnshire 90 100 108 92 118 107 111 134 120 116 
			 Merseyside 346 367 277 227 264 344 343 413 432 460 
			 Metropolitan Police 2,359 2,318 1,842 1,920 2,369 3,126 2,899 2,868 2,954 2,814 
			 Norfolk 101 119 113 81 94 127 118 148 149 148 
			 North Yorkshire 108 122 92 79 90 83 88 113 124 100 
			 Northamptonshire 49 68 69 57 37 52 63 66 59 37 
			 Northumbria 318 359 389 324 389 389 388 405 419 421 
			 Nottinghamshire 144 190 158 156 150 191 245 246 257 263 
			 South Yorkshire 177 175 202 183 203 253 276 286 328 287 
			 Staffordshire(3) 107 143 122 (4)— 116 170 166 157 147 194 
			 Suffolk 87 59 82 83 74 92 111 128 130 170 
			 Surrey 52 42 32 55 55 56 71 70 69 72 
			 Sussex 152 147 167 156 166 207 186 188 224 212 
			 Thames Valley 191 189 186 132 169 213 193 233 285 297 
			 Warwickshire 49 55 50 45 41 49 49 69 47 58 
			 West Mercia 104 102 90 78 103 100 125 151 156 209 
			 West Midlands 537 500 462 524 701 751 745 776 710 787 
			 West Yorkshire 267 275 291 229 267 335 331 475 447 402 
			 Wiltshire 48 66 77 70 79 72 72 83 95 107 
			
			 Dyfed-Powys 69 74 69 64 65 70 84 81 74 53 
			 Gwent 71 84 66 63 60 91 75 108 96 126 
			 North Wales 106 126 113 85 89 115 117 135 147 181 
			 South Wales 223 260 275 235 244 252 271 287 289 294 
			 Total 8,554 9,209 8,265 7,686 8,842 10,488 10,750 11,645 11,970 11,845 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2 )Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for defendants proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table. (4) Nil.  Source:  Court proceedings database held by RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice Our reference: PQ 176295 (Table 4). 
		
	
	
		
			  N umber of defendants aged 10-17 who were convicted at all courts for illegally carrying knives, in England and Wales by police force area for the years 1997 to 2006( 1, 2, 3) 
			  Police force area  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Avon and Somerset 6 7 17 7 23 28 19 28 15 30 
			 Bedfordshire 1 5 3 6 6 2 5 7 11 11 
			 Cambridgeshire 3 6 6 2 4 11 8 6 14 10 
			 Cheshire 7 7 13 11 6 14 6 9 24 14 
			 City of London 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Cleveland 3 5 4 6 8 12 15 12 8 17 
			 Cumbria 10 5 12 8 11 6 9 8 17 11 
			 Derbyshire 8 9 8 5 8 15 17 17 12 14 
			 Devon and Cornwall 9 6 5 14 11 12 22 17 31 18 
			 Dorset 1 4 4 4 3 10 8 6 8 12 
			 Durham 4 6 8 11 10 17 15 19 19 26 
			 Essex 21 24 15 20 26 14 34 45 33 42 
			 Gloucestershire 3 5 3 4 5 5 8 8 6 8 
			 Greater Manchester 21 37 19 46 72 59 54 68 58 88 
			 Hampshire 19 25 18 29 35 27 45 44 33 37 
			 Hertfordshire 7 5 3 3 2 4 15 20 21 19 
			 Humberside 7 6 12 16 15 17 10 14 23 35 
			 Kent 8 12 8 16 14 4 8 1 0 0 
			 Lancashire 12 14 13 17 21 22 24 39 29 35 
			 Leicestershire 10 11 10 9 13 19 13 18 22 23 
			 Lincolnshire 3 9 7 7 4 10 11 7 6 11 
			 Merseyside 28 25 23 26 15 23 33 30 30 40 
			 Metropolitan Police 148 167 178 194 340 309 246 239 298 337 
			 Norfolk 4 3 6 6 9 5 15 9 9 10 
			 North Yorkshire 7 3 6 8 7 11 10 13 11 18 
			 Northamptonshire 2 4 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Northumbria 14 23 28 34 44 45 53 57 56 31 
			 Nottinghamshire 7 5 7 13 15 13 17 20 26 31 
			 South Yorkshire 12 12 15 20 22 37 25 18 33 41 
			 Staffordshire(3) 5 6 5 (4 )— 6 17 13 11 11 12 
			 Suffolk 4 3 8 7 6 18 15 13 16 18 
			 Surrey 3 5 2 9 11 5 4 10 5 7 
			 Sussex 6 9 9 20 24 15 24 23 27 30 
			 Thames Valley 7 12 5 7 13 13 10 18 23 36 
			 Warwickshire 2 5 4 3 3 5 4 5 5 6 
			 West Mercia 4 8 2 1 2 1 0 3 24 12 
			 West Midlands 28 25 17 41 71 62 48 67 61 71 
			 West Yorkshire 13 5 14 10 17 22 19 44 26 29 
			 Wiltshire 4 11 4 4 4 13 7 10 12 15 
			
			 Dyfed-Powys 2 4 0 4 3 5 2 3 11 7 
			 Gwent 5 2 6 4 4 2 4 11 10 12 
			 North Wales 4 5 9 10 12 17 9 7 9 10 
			 South Wales 10 11 10 15 22 18 21 15 20 20 
			 England and Wales 482 561 547 680 963 972 939 1,035 1,113 1,265 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for defendants proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table. (4) Nil  Note: Data for "having an article with blade or point on school premises" excludes convictions for West Mercia PFA, until clarification of these cases is obtained.  Source:  Court proceedings database held by RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice Our reference: PQ 176295 (Table 1) 
		
	
	
		
			  N umber of defendants aged 18 years and over who were convicted at all courts for illegally carrying knives, in England and Wales by police force area for the years 1997 to 2006( 1, 2, 3) 
			  Police force area  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Avon and Somerset 44 62 96 80 82 116 133 118 113 138 
			 Bedfordshire 23 31 20 34 26 38 52 61 67 50 
			 Cambridgeshire 21 29 25 13 23 35 26 56 43 57 
			 Cheshire 52 56 39 40 30 40 48 39 58 70 
			 City of London 16 8 4 8 9 17 19 20 18 11 
			 Cleveland 13 26 27 15 34 57 55 69 63 59 
			 Cumbria 22 22 25 19 17 31 36 38 33 30 
			 Derbyshire 31 22 28 35 45 53 65 83 67 63 
			 Devon and Cornwall 38 72 70 56 60 98 107 109 112 102 
			 Dorset 18 37 28 28 29 45 41 53 53 55 
			 Durham 21 24 27 32 25 59 49 49 70 65 
			 Essex 64 73 81 80 73 89 112 156 143 133 
			 Gloucestershire 13 29 15 13 19 21 24 34 33 31 
			 Greater Manchester 181 205 188 176 209 239 250 276 291 305 
			 Hampshire 78 86 75 77 79 86 108 133 129 124 
			 Hertfordshire 24 24 25 24 23 49 68 64 71 65 
			 Humberside 36 39 53 39 31 52 55 92 92 90 
			 Kent 24 61 76 61 62 29 27 12 12 6 
			 Lancashire 93 106 84 70 85 76 112 122 121 109 
			 Leicestershire 44 58 52 45 52 57 78 80 70 90 
			 Lincolnshire 16 31 47 39 37 40 60 58 47 58 
			 Merseyside 148 144 108 98 106 137 132 169 168 178 
			 Metropolitan Police 1,110 1,160 905 970 1,167 1,562 1,441 1,376 1,400 1,354 
			 Norfolk 25 47 40 30 32 54 54 61 60 52 
			 North Yorkshire 30 31 39 25 38 41 40 56 55 39 
			 Northamptonshire 4 7 14 5 3 2 2 3 6 1 
			 Northumbria 79 78 86 87 109 126 130 154 160 186 
			 Nottinghamshire 40 36 38 34 41 55 68 95 91 113 
			 South Yorkshire 41 46 48 46 92 109 122 99 136 109 
			 Staffordshire(3) 18 33 37 (4) — 28 51 50 60 49 80 
			 Suffolk 27 19 18 23 25 43 37 55 53 88 
			 Surrey 16 8 10 16 21 22 33 30 30 30 
			 Sussex 53 57 83 64 76 112 99 91 94 108 
			 Thames Valley 54 67 70 47 64 72 66 99 122 142 
			 Warwickshire 14 25 20 16 15 21 14 22 18 24 
			 West Mercia 17 30 25 21 6 9 18 18 22 31 
			 West Midlands 146 126 120 163 247 281 279 290 258 312 
			 West Yorkshire 33 33 42 47 70 81 89 128 142 143 
			 Wiltshire 17 24 28 24 32 24 33 40 41 55 
			
			 Dyfed-Powys 14 19 29 23 28 30 34 36 34 22 
			 Gwent 19 16 14 17 16 31 19 37 26 44 
			 North Wales 42 50 51 32 39 57 52 60 68 103 
			 South Wales 59 87 91 68 72 96 90 109 100 133 
			 Total 2,878 3,244 3,001 2,840 3,377 4,343 4,427 4,810 4,839 5,058 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for defendants proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table. (4 )Nil  Note:  Data for "having an article with blade or point on school premises" excludes convictions for West Mercia PFA, until clarification of these cases is obtained.  Source: Court proceedings database held by RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice Our reference: PQ 176295 (Table 2).

Arthritis: Industrial Health and Safety

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to increase awareness of rheumatoid arthritis in the workplace; and what plans he has to issue guidance to employers on supporting employees with rheumatoid arthritis.

Ann Keen: As part of the cross Government Health, Work and Well-being Strategy, we are working to improve the support that is available to employers to support staff with long-term conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, to obtain and to remain in work.
	This includes a free occupational health and return to work support and advice service for small and medium sized businesses, which is being piloted by the Health and Safety Executive until February 2008.
	We have also established a Vocational Rehabilitation Task Force to look at the best ways of encouraging and supporting employers to provide good quality rehabilitative services to their staff.
	We are also encouraging employers to provide good quality occupational health services and thought the Health, Work and Well-being Strategy, we are working to engage employers and show them the business benefits of taking action to support their staff.

Foetuses: Surgery

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which hospitals in England and Wales have equipment which enables doctors to perform keyhole surgery on unborn babies; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The data is not collected centrally.

General Practitioners

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GPs are registered as having a special interest, broken down by speciality.

Ann Keen: The number of general practitioners (GPs) registered as having a special interest (GPSIs) as at 30 June 2007 was 1,752. We have no data on the numbers by specialty.
	The data on the number of GPSIs is collected quarterly from all primary care trusts using the Quarterly Activity Return and it provides the numbers as at the last day of the quarter. The latest available data is for June 2007.
	 Source:
	Department of Health Quarterly Activity Return Commissioner based.

Liver Diseases

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) males and  (b) females in each age group had (i) coronary artery disease and (ii) liver cancer in (A) Southend, (B) Essex and (C) England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Ann Keen: The Department is not able to provide prevalence data on coronary artery disease in the form requested. However, the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) dataset does provide the number of patients with coronary artery disease (termed coronary heart disease (CHD) in the QOF). This dataset does not separate men and women and does not hold data on the age of the patients. The data are available only from the financial year 2004-05. Only practices in England who participate in QOF are included. The number of patients is shown in the following table.
	The Office for National Statistics have provided data for liver cancer in the following tables.
	
		
			  Quality and Outcomes Framework data 
			  Number of patients with CHD  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Southend 6,015 6,158 (1)— 
			 Essex 56,620 58,289 (2)58,857 
			 England 1,893,184 1,900,640 1,898,565 
			 (1 )Southend PCT was abolished in October 2007 when it merged with Castle Point and Rochford, separate data are not available. (2 )Essex strategic health authority was abolished in July 2007. This figure is an estimate obtained by adding together figures for the primary care trusts south east Essex, south west Essex, west Essex, north east Essex and mid Essex. 
		
	
	
		
			  Registrations of newly diagnosed cases of liver cancer( 1) , by sex, Southend unitary authority, 1996 to 2005 
			   Males  Females 
			 1996 4 3 
			 1997 3 3 
			 1998 5 3 
			 1999 4 2 
			 2000 2 4 
			 2001 2 5 
			 2002 8 4 
			 2003 5 2 
			 2004 4 5 
			 2005 2 2 
			 (1 )Liver cancer is coded to C22 in the International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD-10). The numbers by age group for Southend and Essex would be disclosive, so only 'all ages' for Southend and two age groups for Essex have been provided.  Source:  Office for National Statistics 
		
	
	
		
			  Registrations of newly diagnosed cases of liver cancer( 1) , by sex and age group: Essex county, 1996 to 2005 
			  Age group  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			  Males   
			 0-74 13 13 15 14 23 14 18 15 16 18 
			 75+ 5 7 11 12 14 7 7 8 14 9 
			 All ages 18 20 26 26 37 21 25 23 30 27 
			
			  Females   
			 0-74 7 10 6 7 12 7 9 3 4 5 
			 75+ 3 5 9 5 12 6 8 9 11 14 
			 All ages 10 15 15 12 24 13 17 12 15 19 
			 (1 )Liver cancer is coded to C22 in the International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD-10).  Source:  Office for National Statistics 
		
	
	
		
			  Registrations of newly diagnosed cases of liver cancer( 1) , by sex and age group, England, 1996 to 2005 
			  Age group  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			  Males   
			 Under 1 3 2 2 2 3 6 3 3 2 2 
			 1-4 4 8 2 2 3 7 6 6 4 5 
			 5-9 0 2 1 0 1 0 1 1 3 1 
			 10-14 0 1 1 2 1 1 3 1 1 2 
			 15-19 1 1 3 2 3 1 4 0 4 2 
			 20-24 2 5 2 3 5 1 1 1 5 4 
			 25-29 1 4 2 4 4 10 3 2 7 4 
			 30-34 5 5 5 8 7 11 9 6 11 4 
			 35-39 8 12 11 12 23 9 8 10 8 10 
			 40-44 24 17 21 16 23 26 24 30 23 23 
			 45-49 33 31 37 53 54 46 50 51 43 51 
			 50-54 58 59 72 79 70 84 81 80 58 96 
			 55-59 80 82 85 110 115 115 103 126 124 159 
			 60-64 124 132 150 139 147 146 139 143 153 179 
			 65-69 171 192 167 168 204 177 203 228 201 225 
			 70-74 190 187 216 189 258 208 252 229 214 260 
			 75-79 183 183 209 209 224 212 251 235 262 244 
			 80-84 109 111 120 122 127 121 169 158 172 203 
			 85+ 63 77 63 81 80 111 114 109 90 125 
			 All ages 1,059 1,111 1,169 1,201 1,352 1,292 1,424 1,419 1,385 1,599 
			
			  Females   
			 Under 1 2 2 2 1 1 4 2 2 2 2 
			 1-4 3 1 2 4 3 4 4 4 2 4 
			 5-9 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 
			 10-14 1 1 0 3 2 0 0 2 3 0 
			 15-19 2 1 1 0 2 3 4 3 1 4 
			 20-24 1 2 1 4 2 0 2 6 3 3 
			 25-29 2 4 3 1 4 3 0 0 1 1 
			 30-34 5 2 3 4 3 2 3 3 11 3 
			 35-39 7 7 3 8 5 6 8 3 9 4 
			 40-44 10 5 10 11 8 12 13 9 11 8 
			 45-49 14 23 13 19 21 9 21 24 20 23 
			 50-54 29 32 25 39 30 32 30 29 46 34 
			 55-59 36 38 38 37 39 48 60 46 50 55 
			 60-64 66 51 60 63 70 69 56 53 57 67 
			 65-69 82 101 93 87 96 95 106 99 97 117 
			 70-74 136 128 133 111 139 139 131 120 140 127 
			 75-79 116 147 152 138 155 191 143 149 154 169 
			 80-84 121 126 112 120 138 155 170 170 185 179 
			 85+ 117 143 143 118 157 141 179 150 153 185 
			 All ages 751 814 796 768 875 913 932 872 947 985 
			 (1) Liver cancer is coded to C22 in the International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD-10)  Source:  Office for National Statistics

National Service Framework for Older People: Osteoporosis

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on the implementation of the recommendations for osteoporosis services contained in the National Service Framework for Older People.

Ivan Lewis: Progress in implementation of the recommendations for contained in the National Service Framework for Older People, including those for osteoporosis services, is detailed in "A New Ambition for Old Age: Next steps in implementing the National Service Framework for Older People" published in April 2006. This publication was issued at the mid-way point of the 10-year National Service Framework for Older People.

NHS: Management

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average management costs were for all NHS trusts in England in  (a) cash terms and  (b) as a percentage of the trust's income in 2006-07; and which 10 trusts have the highest management costs (i) in cash terms and (ii) as a percentage of the trust's income.

Ben Bradshaw: Information on management costs for national health service trusts, in expenditure terms and as a percentage of NHS trust income, for 2006-07, is included at table 1.
	Information on the 10 NHS trusts with the highest expenditure on management costs and the highest management costs as a percentage of the NHS trusts' income for 2006-07 is included at tables 2 and 3.
	Total NHS trust spend on management costs in 2006-07 equated to 3.1 per cent. of turnover.
	
		
			  Table 1: Management costs NHS trusts 2006-07 
			   Total senior managers and managers (Thousand)  Total income ( £000 )  As percentage of income 
			 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Trust 4,247 93,684 4.5 
			 Aintree University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 1,876 65,740 2.9 
			 Airedale NHS Trust 3,477 98,756 3.5 
			 Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals NHS Trust 5,698 179,522 3.2 
			 Avon and Wiltshire MHP NHS Trust 7,078 183,168 3.9 
			 Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hosp NHS Trust 11,173 351,780 3.2 
			 Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust 6,647 252,942 2.6 
			 Barnet, Enfield and Haringey MH NHS Trust 4,314 182,204 2.4 
			 Barts and The London NHS Trust 19,496 546,677 3.6 
			 Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 2,417 82,146 2.9 
			 Bedford Hospitals NHS Trust 3,130j 114,529 2.7 
			 Bedfordshire and Luton MH and Social Care NHS Trust 4,986 81,439 6.1 
			 Berkshire Healthcare NHS Trust 2,290 102,244 2.2 
			 Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS trust 9,503 211,234 4.5 
			 Birmingham Children's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 4,890 123,046 4.0 
			 Birmingham Women's Health Care NHS Trust 3,984 69,695 5.7 
			 Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust 6,614 237,748 2.8 
			 Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust 3,032 158,201 1.9 
			 Bolton, Salford and Trafford Mental Health NHS Trust 6,763 117,388 5.8 
			 Bradford District Care NHS Trust 5,373 118,831 4.5 
			 Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust 7,986 326,320 2.4 
			 Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust 5,115 157,913 3.2 
			 Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust 8,272 252,488 3.3 
			 Burton Hospitals NHS Trust 3,967 114,024 3.5 
			 Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust 2,938 83,735 3.5 
			 Calderstones NHS Trust 1,519 43,550 3.5 
			 Cambridge and Peterborough MH Partnership NHS Trust 8,108 129,733 6.2 
			 Camden and Islington Mental Health Social Care NHS Trust 6,467 133,535 4.8 
			 Central Manchester/ Manchester Child NHS Trust 11,469 510,848 2.2 
			 Central and North West London MH NHS Trust 8,005 183,705 4.4 
			 Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 2,328 117,351 2.0 
			 Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Trust 4,359 108,569 4.0 
			 Christie Hospital NHS Trust 3,193 131,499 2.4 
			 Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology NHS Foundation Trust 539 15,822 3.4 
			 Cornwall Partnership NHS Trust 4,865 88,082 5.5 
			 County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust 6,318 237,449 2.7 
			 Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust 894 72,161 1.2 
			 Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust 3,228 112,391 2.9 
			 Derbyshire Mental Health Services NHS Trust 4,852 91,407 5.3 
			 Devon Partnership NHS Trust 5,221 105,518 4.9 
			 Doncaster and South Humber Healthcare NHS Trust 2,836 90,560 3.1 
			 Dorset Health Care NHS Trust 1,468 75,129 2.0 
			 Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust 4,245 199,545 2.1 
			 Ealing Hospital NHS Trust 4,297 115,249 3.7 
			 East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust 3,937 270,257 1.5 
			 East Cheshire NHS Trust 2,190 96,776 2.3 
			 East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust 5,871 363,619 1.6 
			 East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust 5,688 289,933 2.0 
			 East London and The City MH NHS Trust 6,449 162,487 4.0 
			 East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust 5,658 125,020 4.5 
			 East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust 6,303 189,026 3.3 
			 East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust 1,801 235,415 0.8 
			 Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust 5,440 272,854 2.0 
			 Essex Rivers Healthcare NHS Trust 3,660 175,023 2.1 
			 George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust 2,120 93,496 2.3 
			 Gloucestershire Partnership NHS Trust 3,246 74,593 4.4 
			 Good Hope Hospital NHS Trust 3,800 133,839 2.8 
			 Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Trust 6,127 247,048 2.5 
			 Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust 3,695 61,938 6.0 
			 Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust 10,135 500,269 2.0 
			 Hampshire Partnership NHS Trust 5,932 177,342 3.3 
			 Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Trust 5,937 183,937 3.2 
			 Hereford Hospitals NHS Trust 2,243 93,562 2.4 
			 Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Trust 4,114 174,252 2.4 
			 Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust 3,198 72,357 4.4 
			 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 9,545 366,964 2.6 
			 Humber Mental Health Teaching NHS Trust 5,206 73,096 7.1 
			 Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust 5,906 182,029 3.2 
			 James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 2,010 43,183 4.7 
			 Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership NHS Trust 5,816 183,877 3.2 
			 Kettering General Hospital NHS Trust 6,169 129,523 4.8 
			 King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 1,034 279,749 0.4 
			 Kingston Hospital NHS Trust 5,777 163,728 3.5 
			 Lancashire Care NHS Trust 5,432 152,632 3.6 
			 Leeds Mental Health Teaching NHS Trust 6,476 103,967 6.2 
			 Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust 20,267 757,446 2.7 
			 Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust 7,134 133,189 5.4 
			 Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Trust 6,292 87,002 7.2 
			 London Ambulance Service NHS Trust 32,474 215,941 15.0 
			 Luton and Dunstable Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 1,071 51,567 2.1 
			 Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust 8,782 243,218 3.6 
			 Manchester Health and Social Care NHS Trust 2,721 85,309 3.2 
			 Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust 5,200 166,030 3.1 
			 Medway NHS Trust 3,002 165,019 1.8 
			 Mersey Care NHS Trust 6,349 194,010 3.3 
			 Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust 5,577 185,931 3.0 
			 Mid Staffordshire General Hospitals NHS Trust 4,017 125,643 3.2 
			 Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 10,192 309,100 3.3 
			 Milton Keynes General Hospital NHS Trust 3,085 119,419 2.6 
			 North Essex Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust 4,647 120,184 3.9 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 1,319 95,604 1.4 
			 Newham University Hospital NHS Trust 4,587 136,442 3.4 
			 Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Trust 6,710 311,235 2.2 
			 Norfolk and Waveney MH Partnership NHS Trust 3,548 103,662 3.4 
			 North Bristol NHS Trust 13,134 381,729 3.4 
			 North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust 2,356 158,464 1.5 
			 North Cumbria Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 3,498 182,406 1.9 
			 North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust 1,831 73,369 2.5 
			 North East London Mental Health NHS Trust 6,576 104,580 6.3 
			 North Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Trust 3,284 237,750 1.4 
			 North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 4,036 138,831 2.9 
			 North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust 5,690 90,092 6.3 
			 North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust 3,937 191,038 2.1 
			 North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust 15,748 196,642 8.0 
			 North West London Hospitals NHS Trust 7,634 295,886 2.6 
			 Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust 5,366 174,041 3.1 
			 Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Trust 4,129 98,113 4.2 
			 Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust 942 89,547 1.1 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust 8,914 279,721 3.2 
			 Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust 2,024 85,966 2.4 
			 Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust 14,094 583,794 2.4 
			 Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust 10,224 258,890 3.9 
			 North Cumbria MH and Learning Disabilities NHS Trust 2,412 49,418 4.9 
			 Nuffield Orthopaedic NHS Trust 2,488 81,122 3.1 
			 Oxford Learning Disability NHS Trust 918 35,743 2.6 
			 Oxford Radcliffe Hospital NHS Trust 13,252 484,559 2.7 
			 Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire MH Partnership NHS Trust 730 142,629 0.5 
			 Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust 617 13,389 4.6 
			 Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 11,514 473,696 2.4 
			 Pennine Care NHS Trust 5,623 101,975 5.5 
			 Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust 7,588 315,873 2.4 
			 Poole Hospitals NHS Trust 3,596 148,258 2.4 
			 Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust 10,945 372,407 2.9 
			 Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust 3,743 136,763 2.7 
			 Queen Elizabeth Hospital Kings Lynn NHS Trust 2,621 113,469 2.3 
			 Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust 4,362 147,525 3.0 
			 Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust 2,673 100,149 2.7 
			 Rob Jones and A Hunt Orthopaedic NHS Trust 2,128 58,702 3.6 
			 Royal Berkshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 908 36,483 2.5 
			 Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust 1,239 212,762 0.6 
			 Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust 3,377 234,384 1.4 
			 Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust 6,891 390,359 1.8 
			 Royal Liverpool Broadgreen Hospitals NHS Trust 6,822 314,114 2.2 
			 Royal Liverpool Children's NHS Trust 1,551 134,725 1.2 
			 Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 1,135 45,129 2.5 
			 Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Trust 6,312 151,844 4.2 
			 Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust 4,488 177,619 2.5 
			 Royal Wolverhampton Hospital NHS Trust 6,613 234,507 2.8 
			 Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust 2,382 75,353 3.2 
			 Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust 943 23,316 4.0 
			 Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust 13,680 327,536 4.2 
			 Sandwell MH Social Care NHS Trust 1,768 46,254 3.8 
			 Scarborough and North East Yorks NHS Trust 2,058 94,870 2.2 
			 Sheffield Care NHS Trust 6,660 102,875 6.5 
			 Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust 197 27,436 0.7 
			 Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 3,944 149,832 2.6 
			 Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust 4,898 205,748 2.4 
			 Somerset Partnership NHS and Soc Care NHS Trust 1,350 53,335 2.5 
			 South Central Ambulance Service NHS Trust 8,682 102,485 8.5 
			 South Devon Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust 5,809 153,267 3.8 
			 South Downs Health NHS Trust 952 70,732 1.3 
			 South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Trust 5,488 127,647 4.3 
			 South Essex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust 373 8,001 4.7 
			 South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust 4,608 187,717 2.5 
			 South Staffordshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust 464 7,102 6.5 
			 South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust 7,561 364,589 2.1 
			 South Warwickshire General Hospitals NHS Trust 2,423 103,564 2.3 
			 South West Ambulance Service NHS Trust 2,169 104,602 2.1 
			 South West Yorkshire Mental Health NHS Trust 1,874 99,779 1.9 
			 Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust 14,181 388,522 3.6 
			 Southend University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 838 34,396 2.4 
			 Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust 4,737 124,537 3.8 
			 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 7,041 384,146 1.8 
			 St. Helens and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust 4,155 197,085 2.1 
			 St. Mary's NHS Trust 7,445 291,303 2.6 
			 Staffordshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust 1,646 28,401 5.8 
			 Suffolk MH Partnership NHS Trust 3,916 83,579 4.7 
			 Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Trust 7,523 167,037 4.5 
			 Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust 6,244 163,297 3.8 
			 Sussex Partnership NHS Trust 7,938 201,260 3.9 
			 South West London and St. George's Mental Health NHS Trust 7,191 168,595 4.3 
			 Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust 3,746 160,740 2.3 
			 Tameside and Glossop Acute Services NHS Trust 2,831 113,292 2.5 
			 Taunton and Somerset NHS Trust 6,086 165,557 3.7 
			 Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust 589 13,540 4.4 
			 Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust 9,522 203,373 4.7 
			 The Cardiothoracic Centre—Liverpool NHS Trust 2,021 82,922 2.4 
			 The Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust 878 151,405 0.6 
			 The Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust 3,511 172,464 2.0 
			 The Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust 4,153 123,303 3.4 
			 The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust 2,448 75,629 3.2 
			 The Royal West Sussex NHS Trust 5,038 113,962 4.4 
			 Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust 2,545 84,818 3.0 
			 United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust 14,740 372,526 4.0 
			 United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust 8,393 294,154 2.9 
			 University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust 10,632 408,461 2.6 
			 University Hospital of North Staffordshire Hospital NHS Trust 7,280 333,855 2.2 
			 University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust 3,448 149,384 2.3 
			 University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust 18,716 588,666 3.2 
			 University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust 7,230 211,221 3.4 
			 Walsall Hospitals NHS Trust 2,897 149,144 1.9 
			 Walton Neurology Centre NHS Trust 1,785 47,868 3.7 
			 West Dorset General Hospitals NHS Trust 1,863 116,171 1.6 
			 West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust 5,049 218,248 2.3 
			 West London Mental Health NHS Trust 10,715 227,420 4.7 
			 West Middlesex University NHS Trust 3,937 118,854 3.3 
			 West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust 6,168 118,362 5.2 
			 West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust 476 116,264 0.4 
			 Weston Area Health NHS Trust 1,800 70,300 2.6 
			 Whipps Cross University Hosp NHS Trust 7,116 186,752 3.8 
			 Whittington Hospital NHS Trust 3,727 142,389 2.6 
			 Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust 7,148 126,807 5.6 
			 Wirral Hospital NHS Trust 1,827 231,550 0.8 
			 Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 7,761 263,801 2.9 
			 Worcestershire MH Partnership NHS Trust 3,034 56,750 5.3 
			 Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS Trust 4,779 143,397 3.3 
			 Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust 3,632 199,081 1.8 
			 Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 431 13,592 3.2 
			 York Hospitals NHS Trust 7,406 180,026 4.1 
			 Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust 7,130 144,639 4.9 
			 
			 England 1,098,955 35,832,646 3.1 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Top 10 NHS trusts with highest management costs 
			   Total senior managers and managers (Thousand)  Total income ( £000 )  As percentage of income 
			 London Ambulance Service NHS Trust 32,474 215,941 15.0 
			 Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust 20,267 757,446 2.7 
			 Barts and The London NHS Trust 19,496 546,677 3.6 
			 University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust 18,716 588,666 3.2 
			 North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust 15,748 196,642 8.0 
			 United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust 14,740 372,526 4.0 
			 Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust 14,181 388,522 3.6 
			 Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust 14,094 583,794 2.4 
			 Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust 13,680 327,536 4.2 
			 Oxford Radcliffe Hospital NHS Trust 13,252 484,559 2.7 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Top 10 NHS trusts with highest management costs as percentage of income 
			   Total senior managers and managers (Thousand)  Total income ( £000 )  As percentage of income 
			 London Ambulance Service NHS Trust 32,474 215,941 15.0 
			 South Central Ambulance Service NHS Trust 8,682 102,485 8.5 
			 North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust 15,748 196,642 8.0 
			 Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Trust 6,292 87,002 7.2 
			 Humber Mental Health Teaching NHS Trust 5,206 73,096 7.1 
			 South Staffordshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust 464 7,102 6.5 
			 Sheffield Care NHS Trust 6,660 102,875 6.5 
			 North Staffordshire Combined HC NHS Trust 5,690 90,092 6.3 
			 North East London Mental Health NHS Trust 6,576 104,580 6.3 
			 Cambridge and Peterborough MH Partnership NHS Trust 8,108 129,733 6.2 
			  Note: Information for NHS Foundation Trusts is not included. For those trusts which moved to foundation trust status during the year the data included in the tables relate to the part year before the move took place.  Sources: Annual financial returns (unaudited) of NHS Trusts 2006-07—Total senior managers and managers Audited NHS Trust summarisation schedules 2006-07—Total income.

Primary Care Trusts

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what his responsibilities and the responsibilities of  (a) primary care trusts,  (b) acute hospital trusts,  (c) local authorities,  (d) national expert clinical bodies,  (e) local clinicians and  (f) public and patient involvement panels are in the configuration of health services and hospital services;
	(2)  what the procedure is for the reconfiguration of local health services.

Ann Keen: Proposals for the reconfiguration of services are a matter for the national health service locally, working in conjunction with clinicians, patients and other stakeholders. The interim report on the NHS Next Stage Review recommends that change should only be initiated when there is a clear and strong clinical basis for doing so.
	Reconfiguration proposals are currently subject to a three-month public consultation. The outcome is then subject to scrutiny by local authority Overview and Scrutiny Committees (OSCs), comprising elected councillors.
	Where OSCs are unhappy with the consultation process, or do not believe that the changes being proposed are in the interests of the local health service, they can refer the proposals to the Secretary of State for final decision.
	On 4 July 2007, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health (Alan Johnson) announced that he would seek the advice of the Independent Reconfiguration Panel, established to advise on contested service change proposals, on all cases referred to him by OSCs.
	Very few local reconfiguration decisions are referred to the Secretary of State but such scrutiny will ensure that proposals are made on the best interest of clinical need and patient care.

Post Office Closures

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will make a statement on the impact of post office closures on vulnerable people and rural communities.

Patrick McFadden: It is the Government appreciates the important social and community role of Post Offices that we have committed a subsidy of £150 million per year between now and 2011. Where Post Office closures are taking place, Post Office Ltd. Takes into account the location of alternative branches, as well as the access criteria which are intended to ensure reasonable access in both rural and urban areas and include special protections for deprived urban, rural and remote communities.

Post Office Closures

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what discussions he has had with the Post Office on the length and timing of the consultation period for closures of sub-post offices.

Patrick McFadden: The Government's response to the national public consultation on the post office network, published in May 2007, confirmed that the period for local consultations on proposals for post office closures would be six weeks.
	Before that local public consultation begins there are discussions in each area with Postwatch, with local authorities and with Sub Postmasters themselves.
	We have received representations to make the local consultations longer but we are keen to minimise the uncertainty over the network and for Sub Postmasters and mindful that the process overall will take some 15 months from beginning to end.

Unscrupulous Lending

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps he is taking to prevent unscrupulous lending practices.

Gareth Thomas: In 2004 we established two pilot enforcement teams in Birmingham and Glasgow to track down and prosecute illegal money lenders, who were exploiting some of the most vulnerable members of our communities.
	Following the success of these pilots I announced in September a national expansion this crack down on illegal lending and there's now a team covering every region of Britain.

Accountancy: Tax Avoidance

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what powers he has to investigate the affairs of accountancy firms which have been found to be selling tax avoidance schemes which have been declared unlawful by tax tribunals.

Jane Kennedy: I have been asked to reply
	The Government are committed to protecting the tax system against tax avoidance and ensuring that all taxpayers pay their fair share of tax.
	The Tax Avoidance Disclosure regime means that those selling avoidance schemes have a direct obligation to provide information about ("disclose") a scheme to HMRC if it falls within certain descriptions. Finance Act 2007 gave HMRC new powers to inquire into a promoter it reasonably suspects of failing to disclose a scheme if required
	Aside from this, HMRC's powers in relation to third parties (including those who sell avoidance schemes) are generally restricted to collecting information relating to the tax payable by the individual or corporate taxpayer. Powers to inquire into the affairs of an agent are generally restricted to instances of criminal behaviour by the agent.
	It is not illegal to sell tax avoidance schemes, whether or not they are successful in their aim of avoiding tax.

First Time Buyers: Wirral

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what types of Government support are available to first-time house buyers, with particular reference to Wirral, West constituency.

Yvette Cooper: The Government are committed to supporting first time buyers. Support is available through the provision of affordable housing and low cost home ownership schemes such as the First Time Buyers Initiative.
	The First Time Buyers Initiative is part of the HomeBuy low-cost home-ownership scheme which the Government introduced in April 2006. This initiative targets key workers and other eligible groups that have sufficient income to sustain home ownership, but are currently prevented from entering the housing market.
	No figures are available specifically for Wirral, West constituency, however Wirral received in excess of £7 million from the Housing Corporation Affordable Housing Programme in the period 2004-07. This has resulted in 123 homes for low cost home ownership and 213 homes for social rent being made available. In addition, Wirral metropolitan borough council has secured approximately 300 affordable houses over the last two years in negotiations with developers.
	Following the recent Spending Review the increased Regional Housing Pot allocations for 2008-11 will deliver additional affordable housing across the region, for which Wirral have the opportunity to further increase the supply of affordable homes for sale.

Housing: Floods

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people she estimates will not have been able to return to their homes before Christmas Day 2007 as a result of damage from this year's floods.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many families remain unable to return to their homes following the 2007 summer flood damage.

John Healey: I wrote to the hon. Member on 19 December 2007. Since then further data has been provided by local authorities and as of early January around 9,150 households of the households originally affected remain displaced.
	I met with representatives of flood affect councils and the insurance industry on 10 December and agreed a package of concerted actions to help people still badly affected by the floods. Getting people back into their homes as quickly as possible is a Government priority and I announced on the 20 December that £1 million of extra funding will be made available to the small number of councils with a large number of households not yet back in their own homes after the floods:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/619896.

Housing: North West Region

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the role of Government Office for the North West is in assessing bids for housing growth areas.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 10 December 2007
	 The responsibility for assessing housing growth point expressions of interest rests with Communities and Local Government, with Government Office for the North West (GONW) providing support to this process.
	Government Office North West's role has included articulating Government policy to regional stakeholders including local authorities, facilitating quality bids and assisting Communities and Local Government and other Government agencies to gain a full understanding of the local circumstances.
	In response to requests, GONW has organised an informal briefing session in the House, to which all hon. Members in relevant constituencies have been invited to attend.

Housing: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on what occasions representatives of the Government Office for the North West (GONW) have met representatives of Warrington Borough Council to discuss future housing plans; who was present at each of these meetings; and what attempts have been made by GONW to discuss these issues with hon. Members representing the borough.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 10 December 2007
	 Representatives from Government Office for the North West (GONW) are in regular dialogue with local authorities regarding housing issues in the region.
	The GONW Housing Intervention team facilitates and attends various regional and sub-regional working groups to which local authorities are invited to field representatives. However, they have not had one to one meetings with Warrington borough council (BC) on specific housing related issues.
	Jo Lappin, Deputy Regional Director, Housing, Planning and Transport, has met with representatives from Warrington BC on a number of occasions since April 2007 as detailed in the following list, during these discussions the issue of housing in the borough was raised.
	Thursday 12 April—meeting with Diana Terris, Chief Executive
	Monday 12 November—meeting with Diana Terris, Chief Executive
	Friday 16 November—meeting with Andy Farrall, Strategic Director for Environment and Regeneration
	A meeting was also held with the North West Regional Minister on Monday 19 November to discuss economic growth in Warrington, during which housing was raised, attendees were as follows:
	Rt Hon Beverley Hughes MP, North West Regional Minister
	Jo Hawley, Private Secretary to Beverley Hughes MP
	Jo Lappin, Deputy Regional Director, Housing, Planning and Transport, GONW
	Diana Terris, Chief Executive of Warrington Borough Council (WBC)
	Cllr lan Marks, Leader of WBC (Lib Dem)
	Cllr Keith Bland, Deputy Leader of WBC (Conservative)
	Dr Robert Barr, Executive Member of WBC, Planning and Regeneration
	Cllr Terry O'Neil, Leader of the Labour Group at WBC (Labour)
	Andy Farrall, Strategic Director for Environment and Regeneration
	Peter Crompton, Director, BE Group
	Paul Hafren, Principal, Warrington Collegiate Institute
	Mike Ralph, Planning Director, Modus Properties
	Alan Charters, Construction Director, Miller Developments
	In response to requests, GONW has organised an informal briefing session in the
	House, to which all hon. Members in relevant constituencies have been invited to attend.

Labour Party: Elections

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she  (a) informed the Permanent Secretary in the relevant Department of the donations she received as part of her campaign for the Deputy Leadership of the Labour Party and  (b) registered them with the Cabinet Office in accordance with the Ministerial Code.

Parmjit Dhanda: In accordance with the requirements of the Ministerial Code, a list of Ministers relevant interests declared to their permanent secretary will be published in due course.

Local Government: Contracts

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will bring forward proposals to amend Part II (Public Supply or Works Contracts) of Chapter 9 of the Local Government Act 1988 to take account of the Government's commitment to fairness in competitive tendering arrangements under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations.

John Healey: When contracting in circumstances where the 'Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 '(TUPE) are to be applied, best value authorities are permitted to take into account relevant workforce matters.
	The 'Local Government Best Value (Exclusion of Non-commercial Considerations) Order 2001' (SI 2001 No 909) made under Section 19 of the 'Local Government Act 1999' provides, in respect of best value authorities, for certain workforce matters set out in Part II of the 'Local Government Act 1988' to cease to be prohibited matters in the contractual process. This is to the extent that they are relevant to the achievement of best value and for the purposes of TUPE.

North Yorkshire Fire Service: Finance

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations she has received on her consultation for the proposed future financial provision for the North Yorkshire Fire Service.

John Healey: We received a written representation from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority, and my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, met a delegation of members and officers from the authority on 8 January.

North Yorkshire Fire Service: Finance

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make a statement on the financial settlement for the North Yorkshire Fire Service for 2008-09.

John Healey: I announced the proposed local government finance settlement to the House on 6 December 2007,  Official Report, column. 981. The House will have the chance to debate the matter in due course.

Unitary Councils: Bedfordshire

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects to submit the invitation to Bedfordshire County Council, Mid Bedfordshire District Council and South Bedfordshire District Council to submit proposals for unitary government in the Mid Bedfordshire and South Bedfordshire districts.

John Healey: On 19 November 2007, we issued a further invitation to three Bedfordshire councils to submit proposals for the area covered by Mid-Bedfordshire and South Bedfordshire district councils. In response, we received a joint proposal from Mid-Bedfordshire and South Bedfordshire district councils on 14 December.
	On 19 December, we published a consultation paper, seeking views on this proposal. The consultation closes on 13 February 2008.

Palestinians: Foreign Trade

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of changes made over the last 12 months to the operation of the back to back system introduced by Israel for transporting goods within the West Bank and between the West Bank and Israel; what assessment he has made of the impact of the system on  (a) speed with which Palestinian goods can be transported and  (b) costs of transportation; and what representations he is making on the subject.

Shahid Malik: There are currently six back to back crossings for commercial goods between the West Bank and Israel, and one internal back to back crossing in Nablus.
	Transportation times have increased as goods must be unloaded and loaded at each crossing, and in some cases, goods must take a longer route to use a specified crossing. Restrictions are in place on the opening hours and capacity of the crossings. These factors have contributed to an increase in transportation costs.
	DFID is supporting a World Bank study to quantify the additional transport costs these restrictions create. The study will also investigate alternate trade corridors to and from the West Bank.